03/02/2009 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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New Initiatives in 2008 In March of 2008 the Lino Lakes Police Department took strides to strengthen the community involvement in Public Safety. The number of volunteers and the number of hours they vrere donating to the police department continued to increase. The organizational structure was adjusted to create the Community Relations Coordinator which became a command level position. This reflects the importance of the development and coordination of A olunteer involvement with the police department. Through this move the utilization of volunteers throughout the organization can be coordinated '. so their time and skills are put to the best use Coordination of current volunteers as well as recruitment of future ones is now accomplished through one focal point. Service delivery was enhanced in May of 2008 v<-hen the police department went from 2 part- time Community Service Officers (CSO) to 4 part-time CSO's. CSO's are college students enrolled in law enforcement / criminal justice programs that are employed 20 hours a week. Their duties expanded from the standard ordinance enforcement and animal complaint handling to direct involvement in COP / POP. Each CSO was assigned to a specific geographical team and tasked with crime prevention projects that provided opportunities for greater positiv=e contacts with the residents and business owners. Expansion of neighborhood and business crime watch groups is just one of the successes of this initiative. The CSO s also spend part of their hours assisting the front office staff They enter records, transcribe tapes, prepare investigative files and their presence in the front office has allowed the police department to expand the front desk work week service hours to 10 hours a day. This expansion of service time has pro en very beneficial for those residents that need to interact with front office staff beyond the normal 8 — 4:30 hours. Staying open until 6 pm was on an initial trial phase, but due to its success it has been continued. The Minnesota Gang Strike Force (MGSF) is made up of representatives from several law enforcement agencies. The main function of this unit is to investigate gang related criminal activity. Since January of 2008 the Lino Lakes Police Department has assigned a sworn officer to the MGSF. The department receives a $50,000 grant annually to offset the cost of having an officer there. During 2008 officers from the LLPD worked alongside the MGSF which provided learning opportunities for the LLPD officers. An investigation coordinated between the LLPD and the MGSF resulted in the arrest of a male for running a large marijuana growing operation in Lino Lakes. The MGSF investigator has also identified several documented g=ang members that reside, visit or work in our city. The education provided by the connection to the MGSF has resulted in a greater understanding of gang influences here in Lino Lakes. The Crime Free Multi - Housing program is designed to help owners and managers of rental properties keep drugs and other illegal activities off their property. The purpose of this program is not to serve the landlords, but to educate them and their tenants to improve the livability of the rental property by reducing crime. This program is honesty direct. solution oriented. and its design has proven effective in reducing crime on rental properties. Rental properties place larger numbers of people into more dense areas, thereby increasing crime opportunities. It is found that adequate protection of public health and safety will improve in those developments that are certified under the Safer Tenants And Rentals (STAR) program. The corresponding cttt ordinance was enacted in 2007 with implementation taking place m 2008. The purpose of thi " program is to protect, preserve and promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the City of Lino Lakes, to prevent crime in the City and to provide for the administration and enforcement of the STAR program.